Creamy tomato soup without cream…who would have thought! Blending in raw, grated zucchini is the trick to making the soup creamy. Plus you get the added benefit of eating more veggies. I’m indebted to Traci, of Ola Loa Wellness for teaching my daughter Rebecca this trick. I was skeptical but polite when I first heard about it, since Rebecca was the one making it, but happily it turned out to be an absolutely delicious, creamy, flavorful, tomato soup. Maybe even the best one I’ve ever tasted. It’s now one of our regular dinner items.
This recipe is easy and quick – you chop an onion, cook it, open a couple of cans of tomatoes, add a couple more things, cook for 10 minutes and blend with a zucchini. Done and really tasty!
Let’s talk about blending. You can, of course, blend the soup in batches, in a blender or Vitamix. But to save time and make it super easy, I use one of the world’s greatest tools – an immersion blender. You bring the blender to the soup instead of the other way around. It’s a little device that you stick into a pot and move around for 1-2 minutes. Miraculously it blends everything perfectly and takes no time to wash off.
By the way, the recipe does call for a little bit of cream, just for more flavor, not for a creamy texture. If you’re not eating dairy you can leave it out and the soup will still be creamy feeling and delicious.
Also, we make our own chicken stock, which tastes way better than store-bought and really enhances the flavor of soups and gravy. It’s packed with vitamins and nutrients as well. It’s easy. Take a look at my recipe for Chicken Bone Broth to see how simple this is. If you don’t have any on hand, or don’t feel like making it, don’t worry, the recipe tastes good with any store-bought organic chicken (or vegetable) broth like Pacific Natural Food, Imagine Organic, or Health Valley.
- 2 (28 oz.) cans whole tomatoes (not packed in puree), drained, reserve 1 cup of juice
- 4 tablespoons butter, salted or unsalted; or refined coconut oil for dairy free and paleo
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- pinch ground allspice
- 1 large zucchini (or 2 small), grated
- 2 cups homemade chicken stock (see my recipe for Chicken Bone Broth) or canned chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream, optional
- salt and pepper to taste
- In medium non-aluminum pot, heat butter over medium heat until foaming. Add onions and saute until softened. Stir in tomato paste and allspice.
- Add chicken stock, 1 cup of tomato juice, and tomatoes. Rougly chop tomatoes in pot with edge of spatula.
- Cover, increase heat to medium high, and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Add raw grated zucchini.
- Transfer to a blender, or use an immersion blender, and blend until creamy.
- Stir in cream if using and add salt and pepper to taste.
- May be made a day ahead of time and kept covered in the refrigerator.
- Heat over low heat until hot before serving.
